Fortress of Solitude

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."  Mark 6:31

At times many of us have difficulty describing how we feel.  Some are careful not to use labeling words such as depressed or anxious.  These are words that are just a little too intimate or scary.

What we do find easy to say is "I am stressed!"  Stress seems universal.

Life can be pretty overwhelming.  (You may be thinking I am not sharing anything new with you.)  

What do you do to handle stress?  

What are your methods of self-care?  

As counselors, we can spew off a variety of ways we know to assist in reducing stress.  We may tell you to exercise, practice in relaxation techniques, journal, take a vacation, go to bed earlier, and so on.

The Ultimate Counselor has another method of self-care that He himself used when He took the form of man.  Even Jesus, the Living God, got overwhelmed-but it is what he did that was key.

Jesus deliberately sought solitude.  He found a quiet place to be with the Heavenly Father, to abide and to listen. 

He was often distracted from the time He planned to pray.  But, when done with what threw a kink in His day (we all have those), He completed what He knew to be essential.  (Mark 6:32-46)

If even Jesus needed to set aside time with God to maintain equilibrium...

Maybe time with God should be at the top of our self-care list.

After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. (Mark 6:46)